Being “on-Purpose” is Inspiring to Others!

I woke up refreshed in a comfortable bed, although it was chilly and rainy outside, that didn’t bother me. I had a nutritious breakfast and I was ready to write this post for my Blog. I have been pleased with its jump to 3,729 views today. I was just getting started in Australia and the Americas were asleep for the most part. I was glad to get up early as I had skipped the “Ain’t it awful! News” because, as I mentioned earlier, Richard Brodie’s Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme and how these viruses spread from person to person with “Designer Memes”pushing our emotional buttons.

I was planning this post, when I opened my email to find a message from dear friend and teacher in the past, whose life is really on-Purpose in the Conservation Movement. I was aware that her life was full of dealing with “Ain’t it awful! News” of a different sort. I know she has strong emotions about animals but she has found a way to accept and rise above these, because her purpose in life is to find ways to turn things around, without getting involved with politics. (Personally, I think politics, as we know it, attempts debating, similar to fights on a primary school yard.)

The email said: “I am forwarding you this blog post (below) by Richard Falk– one of my all-time academic heroes. He is an author of huge standing in the International Relations world and has been a tireless advocate for global peace and environment protection. She was particularly pleased with his comments on:

–the growing importance of global civil society activism in promoting global justice, nonviolence, and sustainable development;–the increasing promise of soft power geopolitics in overcoming realist scepticism about compliance with international law and reliance on international cooperation.

I admit the my attitude about “Ain’t it awful! News” was feeling irresponsible. I teach others to accept uncomfortable feelings as valuable indicators of when we are not On-Purpose. Richard Falk has obviously accepted some uncomfortable feelings, but remains On-Purpose. I admire him and am inspired by him. He is not without some nasty feelings about the suffering of millions under unfair and even corrupt governments. Although he can accept uncomfortable feelings, he is On-purpose to do something about the causes of these feelings. It is also apparent to me that Richard Falk and my teacher have a high SQ as discussed is the post called Transcending and SQ.

Here is a quote from that post: “You are invisible to me in the here and now as I write this to you, in the eternal present moment, and in that same present moment as you read it! If you can think of this, you are using SQ! Zohar and Marshall offer a little test for SQ: “The indications of a highly developed SQ include:

the capacity to be flexible (actively and spontaneously adaptive)

a high degree of self-awareness

a capacity to face and use suffering

a capacity to face and transcend pain

the quality of being inspired by vision and values

a reluctance to cause unnecessary harm

a tendency to see the connections between diverse things (being ‘holistic’)

being what psychologists call ‘field-independent’ – possessing a facility for working against convention” (and we are only up to page 15 of their book!)

If you feel you might have scored lower than you expected, “there’s hope for all of us!” Here is a further quote from Danah Zohar & Dr. Ian Marshall point out a couple useful things on this, right away:

“Collective SQ is low in modern society. We live in a spiritually dumb culture characterized by materialism, expediency, narrow self-centredness, lack of meaning and a dearth of commitment.

But as individuals we can act to raise our personal SQ – indeed, the further evolution of society depends upon enough courageous individuals doing so. . . . The book finishes with a chapter on how to be spiritually intelligent in a spiritually dumb culture.”

3 thoughts on “Being “on-Purpose” is Inspiring to Others!”

So pleased to see you still sharing your wisdom with the world, Paul.
A rich vein of reading and experiences guided by a mission to help – how can we not welcome this offering into our lives.
Will now start following your thoughts again, as a former student from Adelaide..
Am pleased to be still living on the same planet, whether in a far off land or just around the corner.
Thank You
Tim

Wonderful to read this post, as my first visit to your blog in 2014 Paul.
And, what a year we have ahead of us! High SQ will be needed from us all, as we traverse the political and social difficulties our world is now facing.
We are all part of a global community that includes a diversity of cultures and meaning, as well as the needs and the rights of the non-human world. The task is a big one, but I believe ‘a life should be worth living’. Being On Purpose makes sure that is so
Keep inspiring us as we move forward!